It’s Down To The Final Day

Crewe Alexandra lost at Bournemouth today thanks to a Sam Vokes second half goal. A Danny O’Donnell mistake allowed Vokes through to side foot past Ben Williams in the 55th minute. It was a deserved win for the Cherries as the Alex offered little throughout, with Nicky Maynard failing to score for the first time in eight games.

It wasn’t till after Vokes’ opener that the Alex showed any real attack, with George Abbey forcing a good save from a 30 yard shot whilst Maynard did have the ball in the net only for the referee to whistle for a hand ball from Mark Carrington.

It was perhaps never likely that Crewe would find a equaliser but whilst Bournemouth celebrated moving to within one point and one place of the safety spots, both teams will now be contemplating a nervy final day.

A win for Millwall (3-0 vs Carlisle) saw them safe this afternoon after moving five points away from the bottom four. Cheltenham lost to Oldham, 2-1, which means it’s just us, Cheltenham and Bournemouth up for one relegation space.

The simple fact for the Alex is that a point from the final game against Oldham will be enough to confirm safety, regardless of other results. Meanwhile, Bournemouth will be keeping a close eye on Cheltenham, who are sandwiched between Bournemouth and ourselves.

A Cheltenham defeat at Doncaster next week means we will be safe regardless of the result against Oldham whilst Bournemouth will need just a point against Carlisle to confirm safety due to their superior goal difference.

A Cheltenham draw will also mean safety for ourselves but would mean Bournemouth would require a win. Whilst a Cheltenham win would see them safe and mean Bournemouth would require us to lose and themselves to beat Carlisle.

Anything can happen during these final day dramas. Some fans are claiming safety due to the games left and assuming we will take something from Oldham. I hope the players don’t take the same attitude as it may come back to bite them hard.

We are in a decent position compared to both Cheltenham and Bournemouth but we will not be at all safe till (hopefully) the final whistle next Saturday afternoon.